Works about this Work

Writing White, Writing Black, and Events at Canoe RivuletCatherine McKinnon,
2012single work criticism — Appears in:
TEXT : Journal of Writing and Writing Courses,Octobervol.
16no.
22012;Abstract'How a community imagines the past contributes to the shaping of its present culture; influences that community's vision for the future. Yet much about the past can be difficult to access, as it can be lost or hidden. Therefore, when retelling first contact stories, especially when the documentary information is limited to a colonial perspective, how might a writer approach fictionalizing historical Indigenous figures? 'Will Martin' (2011), a tale written as part of my practice-led PhD, is a fictional retelling of the eighteenth century sailing trip, taken along the New South Wales coast, by explorers Matthew Flinders, George Bass, and Bass's servant, William Martin. This paper traces my attempts to discover how to approach fictionalizing the historical Indigenous figures that Flinders met. Examining how some non-Indigenous writers have appropriated Indigenous culture and investigating what some writers have said about non-Indigenous writers creating Indigenous characters, provided me with some guidelines. Interviews with Indigenous elders, and other members of the Illawarra community, helped me imagine the gaps in knowledge. In the fictional retelling, using unreliable narration to suggest there may be multiple stories around a single historical event, some of which we may never get to hear, became a useful narrative strategy.' (Author's abstract)

Exploration or Espionage? Flinders and the FrenchBruce Bennett,
2011single work criticism — Appears in:
Journal of the European Association for Studies on Australia,vol.
2no.
12011;(p. 14-23)Abstract'The heroic status of Matthew Flinders as the maritime explorer who
circumnavigated the Great South Land and gave it the name Australia has deflected
attention from allegations against him of spying. During Flinders’s return voyage to
England in 1803, he was forced to land at Isle de France (Mauritius) where he was detained
for over six years as a spy. This article shows that the high-flown rhetoric of French and
British authorities about the objectivity and neutrality of scientific voyages sometimes
camouflaged more pressing demands for military intelligence and espionage.' Source: Brice Bennett.

Exploration or Espionage? Flinders and the FrenchBruce Bennett,
2011single work criticism — Appears in:
Journal of the European Association for Studies on Australia,vol.
2no.
12011;(p. 14-23)Abstract'The heroic status of Matthew Flinders as the maritime explorer who
circumnavigated the Great South Land and gave it the name Australia has deflected
attention from allegations against him of spying. During Flinders’s return voyage to
England in 1803, he was forced to land at Isle de France (Mauritius) where he was detained
for over six years as a spy. This article shows that the high-flown rhetoric of French and
British authorities about the objectivity and neutrality of scientific voyages sometimes
camouflaged more pressing demands for military intelligence and espionage.' Source: Brice Bennett.

Writing White, Writing Black, and Events at Canoe RivuletCatherine McKinnon,
2012single work criticism — Appears in:
TEXT : Journal of Writing and Writing Courses,Octobervol.
16no.
22012;Abstract'How a community imagines the past contributes to the shaping of its present culture; influences that community's vision for the future. Yet much about the past can be difficult to access, as it can be lost or hidden. Therefore, when retelling first contact stories, especially when the documentary information is limited to a colonial perspective, how might a writer approach fictionalizing historical Indigenous figures? 'Will Martin' (2011), a tale written as part of my practice-led PhD, is a fictional retelling of the eighteenth century sailing trip, taken along the New South Wales coast, by explorers Matthew Flinders, George Bass, and Bass's servant, William Martin. This paper traces my attempts to discover how to approach fictionalizing the historical Indigenous figures that Flinders met. Examining how some non-Indigenous writers have appropriated Indigenous culture and investigating what some writers have said about non-Indigenous writers creating Indigenous characters, provided me with some guidelines. Interviews with Indigenous elders, and other members of the Illawarra community, helped me imagine the gaps in knowledge. In the fictional retelling, using unreliable narration to suggest there may be multiple stories around a single historical event, some of which we may never get to hear, became a useful narrative strategy.' (Author's abstract)